purse
/pɜːs/ · noun
Meaning
- A small bag for carrying money.
- A handbag (small bag usually used by women for carrying various small personal items)
- A quantity of money given for a particular purpose.
- A specific sum of money in certain countries: formerly 500 piastres in Turkey or 50 tomans in Persia.
- To press (one's lips) in and together so that they protrude.
- To draw up or contract into folds or wrinkles; to pucker; to knit.
- To put into a purse.
- To steal purses; to rob.
- A surname from Middle English.
Etymology / origin
From Middle English purs, from Old English purs (“purse”), partly from pusa (“wallet, bag, scrip”) and partly from burse (“pouch, bag”). Old English pusa comes from Proto-West Germanic *pusō, from Proto-Germanic *pusô (“bag, sack, scrip”), and is cognate with Old High German pfoso (“pouch, purse”), Low German pūse (“purse, bag”), Old Norse posi (“purse, bag”), Danish pose (“purse, bag”). Old English burse comes from Medieval Latin bursa (“leather bag”) (compare English bursar), from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa, “hide, wine-skin”). Compare also Old French borse (French bourse), Old Saxon bursa (“bag”), Old High German burissa (“wallet”).
- burissa(goh)→
- bursa(osx)→
- bourse(French)→
- borse(Old French)→
- βύρσα(Ancient Greek)→
- bursar(English)→
- bursa(la-med)→
- burse(Old English)→
- pose(Danish)→
- posi(non)→
- puse(nds)→
- pfoso(goh)→
- *pusô(gem-pro)→
- *pusō(gmw-pro)→
- pusa(Old English)→
- purs(Old English)→
- purs(Middle English)→
- purse (English)
- Relations: inh, inh, cog, inh, inh, cog, cog, cog, cog, cog, der, cog, der, cog, cog, cog, cog
Related words
purs(Middle English)purs(Old English)pusa(Old English)*pusō(gmw-pro)*pusô(gem-pro)pfoso(goh)puse(nds)posi(non)pose(Danish)burse(Old English)bursa(la-med)bursar(English)βύρσα(Ancient Greek)borse(Old French)bourse(French)bursa(osx)burissa(goh)reimburse(English)पर्स(Hindi)posi(Icelandic)burso(Ido)パース(Japanese)bolso(Spanish)
Descendant words
- reimburse(English) (cog)
- पर्स(Hindi) (bor)
- posi(Icelandic) (cog)
- burso(Ido) (bor)
- パース(Japanese) (bor)
- bolso(Spanish) (cog)
Sources
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